


coming home to the peace of the present

by mlraven



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Cooking, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Knitting, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Reconciliation, Returning Home, Yavin 4, settling down
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:41:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24306094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlraven/pseuds/mlraven
Summary: Long after it's all over, Finn and Poe settle on Yavin IV.
Relationships: Kes Dameron & Finn, Kes Dameron & Poe Dameron, Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68
Collections: Fluffy as a Cloud Flash Exchange





	coming home to the peace of the present

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gloss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloss/gifts).



> Hope it hits the spot, gloss :)
> 
> Title adapted from Elizabeth Lesser.
> 
> Thanks to Beatrice_Otter for the beta!

Long after it's all over, after Rey has taken the name Skywalker and gone wandering, after Rose has orchestrated aid to and encouragement of civilian uprisings, after Lando and Jannah have traced her roots to the densely-populated Senex sector and stopped there, Finn and Poe settle on Yavin IV.

They choose a home close enough to Poe's childhood home for them to be able to visit whenever they want. When they first come to Yavin, Poe goes in alone to talk to his father and try to come to an understanding.

Kes answers the door and his face crumples.

"Poe!" he cries, grabbing him and squeezing so tightly that he can't breathe.

"Papa," he eventually coughs, and Kes immediately loosens his grip. The hug goes on for several minutes, until they've each settled enough to be merely teary.

Kes finally pulls back, holding Poe's shoulders.

"Look at you, mijo, so grown up!"

Poe smiles tremulously and doesn't point out that he's been grown up since long before he went off to join the Resistance. He drinks in the sight of his father, taking in the deepened smile lines around his mouth and the hair that's all gray where it once had some black sprinkled in.

"It's so good to see you, Papa," he says. After a moment, he prompts, "Can I come in?"

Kes immediately steps back and tugs Poe inside.

"Of course, of course, come inside and I'll make you some fresh kaf. If the Resistance's caf's anywhere near as bad as the Rebellion's was, I bet you haven't had a real cup in years."

  
  
  


Once they're settled in the well-worn chairs in the sunny nook by the kitchen and he's had time to savor his first sips of caf made from good, fresh Yavinese beans, he takes a deep breath and sets his mug down.

"I won't apologize for leaving," he says, looking steadily at his father.

Kes takes a deep breath, then releases it. He meets Poe's eyes, but then his slip away to gaze somewhere over Poe's shoulder, as if there's something meaningful in the distance instead of just the golden blur of sun filtering through the trees.

"I've had a long time to think about what I could have done differently, in our last conversation. I tried to find the perfect way to convince you to come home, to stay safe and let someone else deal with the problem, but every time I thought I'd found the words, your Mama would start into me in my head. Eventually, I gave in and listened to her, and I had to admit she was right. How could I stop you, my adult son, from doing as we did? There's a part of every parent that wants their children to look up to them and follow them, especially when it's a choice of doing the right thing.

"So, mijo, I don't think you need to apologize for leaving. _I_ apologize for letting you go off with that argument as our last conversation. I kicked myself sometimes, after I'd come to my senses, that I did not send you off with a meal in your stomach and a bundle of my home-made socks. I told myself that if you came home safely, I would feed you all of your favorites and give you enough socks to last years, and hug you so tightly that you couldn't just wriggle away in the night.

"I am so relieved that you are home safe; I don't care if you want to paint yourself blue and dance naked on the roof. _Thank you_ for coming home, mijo."

Poe swipes a hand over his damp eyes, leaving them bright atop his tremulous smile.

"I'm so glad to be home."

  
  
  


The conversation flows more naturally after that, and Poe mentions that he's brought a partner with him. Kes immediately demands that Poe introduce them, so Poe calls Finn to ask him to come back to the house. Finn, who'd decided to explore the neighboring village, laughs at Poe's request, and reminds him that he took their speeder to visit Kes, so he'll have to come back to retrieve him.

  
  
  


By the time Poe and Finn get back, Kes is in the middle of preparing several of Poe's favorite dishes and has covered the table in pairs of hand-knit socks.

After the initial introductions are past, Finn gravitates toward the table of socks, gently stroking a pair.

"Where did you get these, Mister Dameron?" he asks. "They look very comfortable."

Kes beams with pride. "I made them! They're all for you two, to keep your feet warm wherever you are, in space or in my house. And what did I say about calling me that? Call me Kes, please. Otherwise, I'll feel ancient!" He winks at Finn.

Finn's face goes hot, but he's distracted by the rest of Kes's answer.

"You made these? That's amazing, Mister— Kes! Could you teach me how to make some?" He picks up a pair of socks and squeezes them, enjoying the nubbly stitches.

Kes agrees, though he warns that they won't be starting with socks— "they're complicated, what with turning the heels—" so he proposes a scarf, and Finn argues him up to a hat. Kes smiles as he agrees.

  
  
  


After dinner, they sit down on the couch so Kes can teach Finn the basic stitches. Poe settles into the well-loved armchair across from them and sets his head on his hand to watch.

  
  
  


He wakes up some time later to a hand on his arm. He looks up into Finn's face and smiles sleepily.

"Hey, have a good lesson?" he asks around a yawn. It's gotten darker out, but it's been too long enough since he lived here for him to figure out what time that means it is.

Finn beams down at him. "You'll have a nice hat in no time," he claims.

From behind him, Poe hears Kes snort.

"You'll have a nice hat eventually, what'd I say, kid?"

Finn twists around to look at Kes. "I'll get it down quick, I know I will. I'll just need a few more lessons, just to be sure."

Poe yawns again, and Finn turns back to him.

"We'll do the next lesson another time; it's time for all sleepy Poes to go to bed."

Poe smiles dopily and tugs on Finn's hand where it's back to resting on his arm.

"Don't wanna get up, you come down here."

Finn huffs but lets himself be pulled down to sprawl on Poe's lap. He glances over at Kes to make sure it's okay, only to find Kes misty-eyed as he watches them. Kes smiles and nods, heading toward the door.

"If you can get him upstairs, his room is still made up, and the bed is big enough for two. It's the one with the model A-Wing on the shelf and the photo of the General on the wall." He winks.

Finn stifles a laugh in Poe's shoulder and nods his appreciation.

"Thanks, Kes. We'll see how this goes. Hopefully you won't find us down here in the morning."

Kes exits and Finn looks back to Poe, who's already dozing off again.

He kisses his forehead gently and strokes a hand through his hair, trying to coax him into waking up enough to stand up, or at least to let Finn stand up.

"Come on, sleepyhead, you'll cramp up if you sleep here."

Poe blinks slowly. Finn takes the opportunity to stand back up and braces his feet to try and pull Poe with him.

Poe is like a docile bag of bricks, showing no interest in helping Finn get him vertical, and Finn huffs.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go explore your childhood room and look for funny things to tell Rey. If you want to stop me…"

Poe shakes his head from side to side, eyes blinking faster.

"I'm up, I'm coming," he claims, flailing his arms.

Finn takes his hands again and this time, with Poe helping, gets him standing up. He stands there staring into the middle distance until Finn gently shakes his arm where they're still attached by the hand.

"I'm here, I'm going!" Poe starts toward the stairs, dragging his feet and tugging Finn along behind him. Finn smiles, enjoying half-asleep Poe when he doesn't have to drag him around.

When they finally get to Poe's childhood bedroom, Poe plods over to the bed as if in a trance and collapses face-first on it. Finn rolls his eyes, unlaces his boots, and gets them under the covers.

Poe snuggles up against him, throwing an arm across his middle and tucking his head against Finn's shoulder.

Around a mouthful of fluffy curls, Finn mumbles, "Glad you got up, otherwise I might never've found this place. How many identical doors does one house need…"

He dreams of warm socks, and Poe's arms.


End file.
